The Moose!

The Moose isn't quite a Moose anymore.

Check out Big Boy Mason and his bubbles!

Katrina Questions

They are sending Red Cross and relief people to help in New Orleans. Where are they going to stay?

How are they going to evacuate an entire metropolitan city? Buses? How many bridges are open. Where are they going to put them? Tent cities?

Will the children be able to go to school?

They have a port there, is it accessable to bring in a cruise ship to house rescue workers. That would have aircondition and working kitchen and running water. If you have to ferry people to a cruise ship is there a "lower" entrance?

What will they do with the floating dead bodies? Will they ID every one of them?

Will the water naturally receed like the rivers in '93 here in Missouri or does everything need to be pumped out?

What else can be done? Is everything being done?

I find myself not worrying about the looting... some of the stuff is ridiculous but if someone is stealing diapers or food WHO cares!! Everything is going to be covered by insurance and these people have NOTHING. Violence of course isn't good.

Did FEMA drop the ball on this disaster? Didn't Louisiana always anticipate this could happen?

It's still hurricane season, there could be another one.

Katrina

This hurricane has left me sick to my stomach. I watch CNN and can't turn off the coverage. I have NO idea what I would have done if told to evacuate my home but I'm human and have to wonder what in the heck these people were doing! You see entire neighborhoods that I'm sure were advised to evacuate, were told that the streets and their homes would be flooded but now they are there, trapped on roofs and stuck in attics.

Did the city/state not offer shuttles to the Superdome or other evacuation areas? Or were these people that were afraid that their homes would be looted.

Now there are the people that instead of being on roofs are stuck in shelters anxious to get home to see what is left, but they can't since there are dead bodies floating in the water, downed live power lines and broken gas mains. That's another thing. Why can't the power company kill the power before the storm hits so there won't be live wires in the aftermath, and can restore power to areas that are NOT under water?

Where do these people stay? Lets say it's average Joe and Mary. They buy a home in the Garden District and rehab it. They have little savings and little debt..they are both employed and maybe have a family. Now their home is gone. They go to Mary's parents in TN, Ohio, PA..wherever. Now what. Where do they work, how do they make an income. Do that take an insurance check and rebuild elsewhere?

I haven't heard answers to these questions but I guess all over LA, MS and AL there are bigger puzzles to solve like rescuing people in the first place.

Then Drew asks, almost every time he's over. "BB, why does God let bad things happen in this world?". I sure don't know what to say to a 6 year old.

Now they know what it CAN'T withhold

Little girl of the 70's

If you were a little girl in the 70's, you wore a rainbow shirt that was half-sleeves, and the rainbow went up one sleeve, across your chest, and down the other. I also had the LOVE bracelet and red white and blue polyester dress that came out in 1976.

You made baby chocolate cakes in your Easy Bake Oven and washed them down with snow cones from your Snoopy Snow Cone Machine.

You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.

You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels.

You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (Admit it!).

You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.

You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.

You had either a bowl cut or pixie not to mention the Dorothy Hamill because your Mom was sick of braiding your hair. People sometimes thought you were a boy.

You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.

You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.

You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze.The swing set tipped over at least once.

You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color.

You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with a hard sole and the buckle).

You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson!

Your hairstyle was described as having wings or feathers and you kept it pretty with the comb you kept in your back pocket.

It was a big event in your household each year when the Wizard of Oz would come on TV.

You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: Who will I marry: Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Rick Springfield or Parker Stevenson...or Scott Baio, Jimmy McNichol, Willie Ames, Lance at 15 :0) and the list goes on and on.

You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record albums.

You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird pot holders made on a plastic loom. You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your T-shirts!

You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.

You couldn't wait to get the free animal poster that came when you ordered books from the Weekly Reader book club. Double score if it was a teddy bear dressed in clothing.

You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books (Are you there God, It's me, Margaret.)

You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics.

You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs.

You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.

You spent all your allowance on Smurfs and stickers for your sticker album! I had the Smurf tape roll.

I didn't know that felt that way.

My first thought of Katrina hitting New Orleans was the aquarium. Did they evacuate the penguins and sharks? I was like a deer in the headlights watching the coverage yesterday, it was like a movie that was a day long. When the hurricanes have it areas in Florida it was horrible but I couldn't picture the towns or neighborhoods, I could picture the city of New Orleans and the outlying areas..we drove there. Holly, Renee and I went a few years back, I guess around 7 years ago. It's hard to imagine I'll never have an opportunity to visit that city again. It will be new and rebuilt by the time I get back, a bit selfish I know.

We we went to Grandma's on Friday. We took mom and dad, they really enjoyed themselves. Saturday we did a whole lot of nothing. We did hook up our new Bose Wave Music system to the TV in the bedroom, bringing in the larger TV that used to be in the living room. I have a great little set up. I did watch Face Off again, cool movie, I hadn't seen it in years.

Sunday I went to church then we went to the movies. Jeremy had the 1:50 planned out to see Wedding Singers. Well we got there and it was at 1:20, I KNEW that he looked at Saturday time table but I didn't question him. So we saw The Cave. Well I guess it would have been OK as a rental, we saw it for free. It was OK, it's not like I'm going to discourage or encourage someone to see it. To each his own.

We set up the hammock in the backyard. I spent almost an hour watching J trim the lawn while I sat in the hammock, reading a book, listening to the fountain in the pond. Life was extremely relaxing, then I went back inside and watching more of Katrina. Now Jeremy thinks Katrina Killmer would be a pretty name if we ever had a daughter. He kills me.

I'm sure I'm going to have a busy day at the office, need to pay for the inspection today for the refinance and call the insurance company w/ the claim for the new roof. I am having dreams of a new kitchen. I think we may go to Home Depot tonight and check out cabinets.

Thoughts and prayers throughout the day to New Orleans, MS and Alabama.

Redford and Newman

"they" say that they are talking about a new movie..Bob as he likes me to call him :0) said he doesn't think Newman at almost 80 can remember his lines !!

They would be awesome if Redford quit dying his hair, what is up w/ this. Newman is older but he's aged better, don't you think?

Kurilla was shot

I am so glad I quit tuning out the war and started paying attention. I read Michael every time he has a new post. (see michael yon link at right). I asked him why he won't put his picture on his blog..I'd like to see who I'm reading about...but he said he was afraid the terrorists would know who he was and use him for target practice. SO... I read Michael and the guys day in day out stories of Strykers and Opels in chaces, and tea w/ the Iraqi police, young boys scared to death OF death. LTC Kurilla has been the "John Wayne" of Yon's stories, just an unreal kind of guy, brave, seasoned and a true hero. He was shot in the streets of Mozul, a broken leg which sounded horrible and shot 2 other times. I did get pissed since the terrorist/extremist/ass who shot him HAD been captured but was reased. WHY do they do that. Then there is me..let him bleed on the dirt road.. instead they bring him to the same hospital as Kurilla and operate on him to SAVE him. I know, thou shall not kill..but please do we have to go above and beyond to save the guy we were just trying to kill? This guy was one of those that bombed the cafeteria a while back. Anyway I know the majority of people don't agree with me...not that Peace isn't a good thing. Agg... anyway read the story. Sure hope LTC Kurilla heals quickly.

Drew's Night on Stage

Last night Drew has his official first night on stage! He was center state in a darling outfit. Shirts and a green and white check shirt. Then he had on a green construction paper hat that looked like a little Chinese farm worker hat. They sang their color song, which was too short but very cute.

There were at least 3 sets of girls that danced...just like I used to dance in my bedroom w/ the radio on. Not right for the show. Other girls did back flips to music. The best..of course next to Drew was the magician. 2 girls did magic tricks..there was bossy girl and her size kick and the "chimp" who was a little black boy named Mark. He held signs that said things like "next trick". He could NOT get it right and bossy girl had to keep coming over to get his signs right. Bossy girl knew she was funny but just to the point before she got annoying. They were about 9 or 10 if I had to guess.

News here on the work front is we have a new owner. Partying gift by last owner is a wave music system..sweet. Everything is staying the same, we're going from Ltd. to LLC. Supposed to be only good changes.

Looks like rain today, huge clouds on the drive west this morning. I can't wait til it stays like this. Why can't we go from fall to spring..then back to fall. Maybe 3 weeks of 85 degrees + I guess I need to move all over the country for every season to get that effect.

We are for sure going to see a movie this weekend, not sure what we're going to see. I still want to see Wedding Crashers, I don't know if that is out anymore. Oh well...anything will do and I still have dark chocolate m&m's to stuff in my purse!

Big Bird

Leave it to Sandi to photograph everything I think is beautiful. Check out this bird. She believe's it's a King Fisher. I just know it's awesome.

Cool Days of August

What is going on w/ the weather. It's beautiful this morning. It sucked though, I had the window of the car open and was driving down Dorsett. The trash truck about 8 cars in front of me was stinking up an entire zip code!

Well working on the refi on the house, gotta get that paperwork out today. I'm really looking forward to a new shower/bathtub and functioning kitchen.

I think Pat Robertson has gone off the deep end. He's always been a little wack.

The boss brought in an expresso machine. Employees all hyped up on caffine! If Kevin Long was dead he'd be rolling over in his grave, "how unprofessional". :0)

I'm bummed there are only a couple episodes of The Closer left, oh well I wouldn't want it to interfere w/ regular season shows.

Well off to work!

New Puppy Nephew

The furry one is Milo, the handsome one is Jordan.

WTF?? Kim Stewart

Some celebrities just should be allowed to reproduce. I borrowed this image from pinkisthenewblog.

I love Big Brother

Last night was classic. From the "Bye Bye Bitches". They are as juvinelle as a bunch of high schoolers...maybe even grade schoolers.

I started out not liking Janelle, now she KILLS me. I'm sorry to see Kayser go, he never got to mess things up to his full potential..James though cracked me up w/ his cackle, realizing that he has another week. He's just sitting there watching the "friendship" and Howie and the gang (not sure of their name) beat up on each other. Last year the "three horseman" cracked me up.

Oh well, we'll miss Saturday's episode since we're going to Patricks for Marty's retirement party. Looking forward to that.

Pretty!!

Found this on yahoo. That is just awesome!

What's Going on in Israel

I was SO confused over what was going on, I asked the question but no one answered me, so I found out. This was from the CM that I found on Yahoo. I think I actually get it! My thought/question is if you knew it was an occupation and a target for terrorist activity WHY would you choose to live there in the first place? Is it really pretty? In a way it's like iminent domain where you loose your house to a Walmart..here you are loosing it to a piss match to terrorist, right? I talked to an Israelie once who said that the biased US media is full of shit and there aren't Palestinians..just terrorists. I don't know, at least this makes a little sense to me.

I tried to find a really cool image of a gaza strip home that people were being forced out of, all I could find was bombed out concreate buildings, the best though was a realestate site, it looks like the "occupied strip" is going to become condos...no lie. It shows drawings of condo's marina and shops. "Welcome to Gaza"...seems really bizarre.

Monday Israel starts pulling out of 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank. After it's cleared, the land will be handed over to Palestinian control. Jerusalem Bureau Chief Ilene Prusher explains how - and why - this will happen.
Why is Israel pulling out of Gaza and four settlements in the West Bank?In the midst of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to promote disengagement as Israel's best way of extricating itself from the conflict and decreasing its vulnerability to terrorism.
Mr. Sharon endorsed a view Israel's left-wing has argued for years: Being in some parts of the Occupied Territories was more of a security liability than an asset. And, for the first time ever, Sharon said in 2003 that he wanted to end the occupation.
"It is not possible to continue holding 3-1/2 million people under occupation," he told Likud members in May 2003. "You may not like the word, but what's happening is occupation. This is a terrible thing for Israel, for the Palestinians, and for the Israeli economy."
Why did Israel occupy the settlements in the first place?Israel occupied the territories after taking control of Gaza from Egypt and the West Bank from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War. Israeli political figures - Sharon foremost among them - argued for building settlements in the territories to achieve several goals. The settlements would create "facts on the ground" that would make it impossible for Israel to turn the disputed lands over to the Palestinians. And the settlements might also, in the long term, populate the territories with enough Israelis to warrant annexation.
The settlements and settlers were also viewed as a security buffer against future invasions. The first settlement in Gaza, Kfar Darom, was set up in 1970.
After 1993, when Israel and the Palestinians reached a peace accord after the first intifada, Israel pulled out of all populated areas of Gaza, withdrawing only to settlements and military installations.
This afforded the Palestinian Authority (PA) room to establish a measure of self-rule. However, Israel continued to control all border crossings and Palestinian movement in and out of Gaza, and heavily curtailed the flow of Palestinian workers into Israel in response to suicide bombings.
When Israeli-Palestinian peace talks broke down in September 2000, a second intifada broke out and Israel declared it was retaking control of the territories.
How will disengagement work? How will the government get settlers to leave?If settlers haven't left by Wednesday, they will begin to be forcibly removed. According to the government, anyone who refuses to evacuate could lose up to 30 percent of the compensation benefits - up to $300,000 per family.
Those who are uncooperative will also have to bear a larger burden of their moving costs. Goods left behind will be put into containers and sent to a warehouse at the settlers' expense. Those, however, who willingly remove their belongs before the evacuation can have them moved to a place of the evacuees' choosing.
Israel intends, by most estimates, to deploy up to 50,000 troops to carry out the plan that is the country's largest deployment since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The cost is expect to be about 7.5 billion Israeli shekels (or about $1.6 billion).
Which settlements will be cleared out first?The Israeli military has not released a schedule for redeployment because it wants to reserve "an element" of surprise, according to an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) official. The smaller and less ideologically right-wing settlements, viewed as easier to evacuate, were originally said to be first, but now the order may be inverted, with more religious settlements evacuated first. However, a cabinet vote last week gave Sharon the go ahead for evacuating three isolated settlements: Netzarim, Kfar Darom, and Morag.
Israeli officials say that if disengagement goes smoothly, they will have the settlements evacuated in two to three weeks. The four small West Bank settlements will be removed in early September.
Will disengagement restart peace talks or improve relations between Israelis and Palestinians?Although there aren't formal peace talks, Israeli and Palestinian officials have been meeting regularly in an attempt to agree on security arrangements as part of the disengagement.
The Palestinian Authority has agreed to place a protective human wall of 5,000 Palestinian security officers around the settlements, which would be a buffer to an adjacent ring of Israeli soldiers. Palestinians, under the arrangements, will not enter these areas until all settlements and military installations have been dismantled. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has called Palestinians to act with restraint, and has asked Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad not to fire on the Israeli army or settlers during the disengagement process.
Why are so many Israelis against the disengagement plan?Actually, about 60 percent of Israelis support disengagement, according to a recent poll by Tel Aviv University. Thirty percent of respondents were opposed.
While the majority support the plan, many Israelis feel that Gaza is part of the land of Israel, promised in the Bible to the Jewish people. Others view the issue more strategically, arguing that Israel is giving up territory without getting any peace guarantees or other reciprocal moves from the Palestinians. Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister who resigned from Sharon's Cabinet last week in protest of the pullout, said the withdrawal would make Gaza "a huge base for terror."
How does this pullout compare to other times that Israel has withdrawn from the Occupied Territory?Israel has never withdrawn from territory it won in war without a peace agreement. The Oslo Accords in the mid-1990s never specified what was to happen with settlements in the West Bank and Gaza because that and other thorny issues were left to the final status talks, which fell apart in the fall of 2000. However, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995, gave indications that Israel would eventually withdraw from Gaza and would annex large, heavily populated Israeli settlements in the West Bank, evacuating the small and remote ones.
The disengagement of four small settlements in the northern West Bank will mark the first time Israel is withdrawing settlements in that territory, not including "illegal settlement outposts" - often clusters of mobile homes - that several prime ministers have ordered removed.
What is Egypt's role in the process?Egypt, which had control of Gaza until the 1967 war, has become one of the most important players. It has agreed to send 750 police officers to the 8.6-mile border - the so-called "Philadelphia Route" - between Gaza and Egyptian Sinai. After the Egyptian deployment, the IDF would withdraw from the border. Egypt is also training a Palestinian force to patrol the settlements when Israel leaves. The renewal of Israeli-Egyptian cooperation signals a possible thawing in relations between the two countries.
What's the US role?The Bush administration is wholly supportive of the disengagement plan providing it's a step toward returning to the road-map for Middle East peace, which calls for a negotiated settlement to the conflict and an independent, democratic Palestinian state next to a secure state of Israel.
The US view is that one of the keys to the success of disengagement is strengthening the ability of Mr. Abbas to wield authority in Gaza after the pullout. In the past year, Palestinian militant groups have launched attacks on the PA's police and security forces, raising the specter of a struggle for power after Israel leaves. To help increase the capability of the PA to exercise control after the disengagement, the US has increased security assistance to Palestinian officials.
US donors are also paying $14 million in compensation for Jewish farmers who are leaving behind Gaza greenhouses that will be taken over by the Palestinians. The money was raised by James D. Wolfensohn, former World Bank president and the Bush administration's current Middle East envoy, who is donating $500,000 of his own money.
What will happen to the existing houses and infrastructure?Israel has decided to destroy houses, schools, and synagogues in Gaza, but leave behind major infrastructure such as electricity, pipes, and roads.
Israel's decision to demolish the homes was mainly made for two reasons: Israel didn't want to leave behind homes that Palestinians could overrun, loot, or rush to fly the flag of Hamas in a sign of triumphalism.
Also, Israeli officials charged that the relatively large, single-family homes would not go to ordinary Palestinians, but to elite and senior members of the Palestinian security forces. Palestinian officials have agreed that the Israeli homes are not suited for the needs of Palestinians. Instead, Palestinians plan to build high-density apartment buildings in their place.
No agreement has been made yet on who will cart away the rubble after the demolitions, and this, as well as the environmental and financial costs, remains a point of contention.
Are there other major sticking points between Israel and the PA that are complicating the pullout?So far, the parties have not been able to agree on whether there will be some kind of link between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
As part of the Oslo Peace Accords in the mid-1990s some sort of "safe passage" between the two territories was planned for but never implemented. The PA says such a passageway is vital for economic recovery of Gaza. According to Reuters, talks are under way on the construction of a road or rail corridor between Gaza and the West Bank.
The Palestinians also want Israel to underscore that Palestinians can expect a substantial Israeli withdrawal from West Bank territory - where larger Jewish settlements are expanding.
Palestinian and Israeli officials also have yet to come to any agreement on the rehabilitation of the Palestinian airport, the opening of a seaport, and, most important, a clear policy on the movement of goods and people into and out of Gaza.

Weekend Storm Photo

The storm this weekend that I eluded to earlier made national news I hear. I found this photo at kmov.com I didn't take it. It's very cool though. So glad we didn't loose power.

Big Fish Story

My friend Dave and the one that didn't get away! Salmon from Lake Michigan in Kenosho, Wisconsin. Have I mentioned that I want to go on vacation? Have I mentioned my last trip besides work or a wedding or birthday was Europe 6 years ago. I'm having major relaxation withdrawls.

Blah Blah Blah

Jeremy dug up my buriel ground in the backyard. Wish I could post the image. Gloria next door said she'd help Jeremy put me in the plastic bag. Sick people.

White pregnant women missing since Sunday. I wonder if it will make national news, doubt it. Why?? Well she was not only pregnant, she was heavy set..she wasn't married to the father of her baby...and she was from rural Missouri. Don't think that's flashy enough. Sure hope she's OK.

Yesterday was SO busy at work. Nutzo actually. People in the wealthy area of town STILL have no power. This is all from Saturday's storm. Makes me snicker a little...I don't know why, it's really not funny.

Disturbing news. A guy I've none for YEARS..we're talking over 20 years..I briefly dated his brother..worked w/ the guy...partied w/ him as teenagers/young adults..NOW there is a horrible rumor. He was released from his last job..as a priest for having a foot fetish. The rumour is that he was playing w/ childrens feet and a parent complained...or parents and they moved him to a parish w/out children. From what I hear his closest friend..who has children believes it was blown out of proportion..other friends have vowed to have NOTHING to do with him. The whole thing leaves me confused. I hate to think it was anything more than kidding around and NOT a perverted foot fettish (which I don't get). Guess all we can do is pray for him.

Going to the Cards game tonight w/ Dave, Dad..me and J. They say it's going to get down in the mid 60's. YAY! I'll bring a jacket. Hopefully like predicted the rain will stop this afternoon. Suppan is pitching...hope that is a good think. Arizona just may win the wild card..so this could be a potential pre-playoff matchup. J and I are going once more this year..sitting in the bleachers. Tonight is the work seats..which I've never been in.

Trying to go to Arizona in late December. Waiting to hear when I can go. Everyone elses vacation trumps mine. Crossing my fingers I can do at least Wed - Sun.

I watched Closer last night..LOVE that show. Then I stayed on TNT to watch the new show, Wanted. Not sure which episode it was..first one I saw. AWESOME. I think the actor is Gary Cole..he's HOT. I really like the white guy/kid. I think he was in a college movie of sorts. Good actor. The scruffy guy w/ long blond hair is kinda hit too. I know the DA lady is somebody I recognize too. Really good show. I think it's on regularly on Sunday night. I could give up the Anthony Michael Hall show for that.

Well yesterday was a FREAK day at the office..so much so that I was laying in bed thinking about the Lane Furniture quote I didn't get to yesterday. Here's hoping today is less wack.

Yeah Phil!!!

TOO CUTE!! Way to go Phil! His kids are darling. His son has quite the head of hair doesn't he. I'm so glad it didn't go to a playoff w/ Tiger. I would to have loved to have seen the final, I did listen on line through pga.com which was better than nothing.

All these cute boys!

Hey good looking!
This is my cousin's grandson Jon, isn't he adorable. I haven't seen him since Christmas so it will be nice seeing him this weekend for his 1st birthday party. MAN he looks like his mom!

Great! I'm going to Hell

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Third Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Moderate
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante Inferno Hell Test

Blog Worthy Day

The news today was just full of blog worthy items.

First off, the psycho people in TN. Normal? girl, divorces her hs sweetheart, moves accross country, becomes a nurse, gets assigned to a prison, falls in love with a dangerous violent inmate, gets fired for giving him food then marries him when she is still married to husband number two...THEN works out this great escape plan with her "husband" on a black market cellphone...she KILLS a guard at the court house, they travel accross state lines, impersonates and Amway Salesperson and NOW, the news today, "Fugitive Couple REFUSES To Go Back to Tenn". Who the hell asked them? Throw them in the back of the flippin van and put them in JAIL. He says, "I don't wanna leave without my wife". Idiot you are not even legally married.

Lucielle Ball is the most loved dead celebrity. ??? wtf? Who does polls on this stuff?

The Mars rocket blasted off this morning, I was like a deer in the headlights watching for it to fall apart in the air. It didn't it's going to Mars.

On a space related topic I heard for only $100 Million dollars you can go on a Russian Space ship to the Moon. You can go to the dark side and see the huge craters, cool! I'll have to save up.

Flipping Cubs beat the Cardinals, I hate it when that happens.

Kaysar came back on Big Brother..Sarah is gone. I'm fine with that. Jennifer won the HOH this week, not to thrilled about that. I'm not sure she is smart enough for the pressure. I'm sure April will tell her what to do.

That Msg was kicked out of the priesthood or whatever for having an affair w/ that 46 year old gal. NY I think. Good for him getting it on w/ a woman...but did she have to be married..shame shame.

I paid $10 for not even 4 gallons of gas, didn't even fill up the little Sentra half way :0(

An old man in California found a 400 foot waterfall in a National Park in CA. Too cool, it hadn't been on the map, but they know people were there since they found part of a bulldozer from the '50s and a knife.

Phil is kicking booty during the PGA. -8 for today!!

The new Survivor cast was annouced today. Thank God there are people over 30! That ex NFL guy's head is shaped funny. AND on his personal stuff it asked him for favorite sports team and he said none. You think he would have picked the Cowboys.

Then there is the Cindy gal in Crawford in front of W's ranch. GO HOME. You know she is just the front for all those liberal extremist. That would be nice if her agenda was just wanting to ask him some questions. It's to attack him with the liberal agenda of anti war demonstrations. OK, let's annouce to the world that we're pulling out of Iraq and every other country..lets disband our military and put flowers in our guns. They'll nuke the damn trees that these people are hugging. We'll be reciting the Syran or Iranian or North Korean pledge of alligence. OK..got that out of my system.

Other than that, it's FRIDAY :0)

drought

I thought this was pretty cool. The drought has really effected the MissouriRiver. This old steamboat wreckage has appeared. This was the Montana. Note from www.kmov.com is:

The ghosts of the Missouri River are reappearing as the water level drops. The legendary steamboat Montana, the biggest ship ever on the river, sank in 1884 during a routine trip from Kansas City to St. Louis.
The Montana, believed to be one of hundreds of steamboats buried in the Missouri River, is owned by the state of Missouri.

Miss Elly Died

I thought she was already dead.

This should be posted on Jeremy's Head

American Idol Concert ROCKED!

In a nutshell: BO ROCKED! I felt like banging my head. Nikko can MOVE! Jessica Sierra has a set of Pipes! Scott can be funny. Anwar is a great crooner. Constantine is HOT. Carrie is adorable. Anythony is a great balladeer. Nadia Turner is like a sexy young Tina Turner. We really enjoyed it alot! It will be hard to live up to these contestants next year.

Here is the review from our paper:
Nikko's 'Idol' concert performance far surpasses TV appearances By Kevin C. Johnson Post-Dispatch Pop Music Critic Wednesday, Aug. 10 2005 Carrie Underwood is the reigning ``American Idol’’ and Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis are obvious crowd favorites, but it was Nikko Smith’s night when American Idols Live featuring the show’s top ten contestants came to the Savvis Center Tuesday night. St. Louis’ Smith, dubbed the Comeback Kid after he initially failed to make the show’s finalists lineup only to be reinstated after another contestant withdrew, far surpassed his televised ``American Idol’’ appearances during his solo segment in concert. Smith, a good R&B singer who on TV always came off a couple steps shy of being a great singer, rose to the occasion on tour with a naturally fun and comfortable performance. Sure, he was a bit Usher-like in presentation, but he pulled it off during his three-song, dance-heavy set that made one wonder why he wasn’t so animated in the actual competition. Donning a St. Louis baseball cap, dark shades, a funky airbrushed jacket, and distressed jeans, Smith walked out crooning Sisqo’s ``Incomplete,’’ a song the judges thought he wore well when he performed it on ``American Idol.’’ After telling the crowd he felt like dancing, Smith high-stepped to Stevie Wonder’s ``Part-Time Lover’’ before he really surprised with his moves on Justin Timberlake’s ``Like I Love You.’’ Scott Savol joked Smith wanted to be a baseball player when he grew up. ``I don’t know where he got that from,’’ Savol said before giving a shout out to Smith’s father, baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith. All was good on ``American Idols Live,’’ a vast improvement over the past three, often hard-to-take installments. Some necessary tweaking in the format served the tour well. Previously, the first half of the ``American Idol’’ tour featured routine solo performances followed by the goofiest groups songs imaginable. Now, the tour is like ten mini-concerts, with the identity-robbing group songs all but dropped until the very end. Highlights were plentiful, as the singers performed at the top of their games, and Bice didn’t let a little something like a recently broken foot stop him. He hobbled on stage and warned the crowd he wouldn’t be able to jump around. But he moved just fine, albeit with a major limp on ``Vehicle’’ and ``Sweet Home Alabama.’’ The likable Underwood brought her light country edge to ``Independence Day’’ and ``Sin Wagon,’’ and she and Bice made for a great pair on ``Bless the Broken Road,’’ both seated with acoustic guitars. Vonzell Solomon was in diva mode, giving a full throttle performance on big R&B staples ``I Have Nothing,’’ ``I’m Every Woman,’’ and ``Best of My Love.’’ She entered the stage joining Robinson, on piano, during ``Superstition.’’ Robinson shined on ballads, ``A House is Not a Home,’’ dedicated to Luther Vandross, and the gorgeous ``What a Wonderful World.’’ Maroulis was best at mugging marvelously. He only played to the camera -- the arena could’ve been empty and he would’ve been fine so long as the cameras were on him. On songs like ``My Funny Valentine’’ and an ego-stroking ``Bohemian Rhapsody,’’ which came with multiple images of himself that bordered on parody, he delivered. Anthony Fedorov, perhaps underrated on the show, proved watchable on oldies such as ``Every Time You Go Away’’ and ``Can You Stop the Rain.’’ Nadia Turner brought fire power to her trio of rock songs. Jessica Sierra and Scott Savol were best in duet form on ``Total Eclipse of the Heart.’’ The concert wrapped with all the finalists back on stage to join Underwood on her hit ``Inside Your Heaven’’ before the encores of ``Lean on Me’’ and ``R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.’’

I need a vacation.

I must go back and visit the ABC Islands again. I've been to B and C..the above is C..I do want to go to Aruba. I wonder if there are any discounts since the Natelee deal. Hmmm

Big Date w/ J

Well I'm very excited about American Idol, I know Jeremy is too. Hopefully he takes a nap today, this morning we watched the shuttle landing before I went to work. That was very cool.

I forgot today was Nacho day at work, I brought left over lasagna. Hmm, what to do. I forgot I was supposed to bring chips, I'll have to make up for it next month. We have chocolate cake. Yum.

Holly's poopy cake

Holly emailed me this today and I had to laugh outloud!!

My weekend update: We had Mom's birthday party yesterday. Dad can't have sugar so Mom ordered a sugar free cake made with Splenda from some bakery in O'Fallon. Yesterday afternoon the diareha set in. I had it, Al had it, my aunt and Al's mom had it too. I talked to Mom today and she said the bakery warned her when she picked up the cake that it could cause "hefty bowl movements"! Did she take the cake anyway???? Yes!! Did she warn anyone??? NO!!! What is up with that? She said she didn't think about it and asked if she should send apology cards? I asked her what would the card say? "Sorry I gave you the runs on my birthday"???? Poor margaret is driving to Chicago today with Pat, Rich, Mallory & Patrick. I guess they were making a couple of extra stops. :) I'm just glad nate wasn't quite old enough to have cake yesterday. Now that would have been a mess.

Monday Blogging

Sometimes I just don't think before I open my mouth: There was a woman in front of me in line at the grocery store. First she tells me to go ahead of her, I do; drop the chicken salad put my stuff up. She says she is waiting for a little girls. Well the girl comes w/ a roll of paper towels, this is item number 5 for her, I have a cartful. I tell the woman to go ahead of me..more moving around then finally getting settled. Then she needs cash back and has coupons, food stamps and is asking a million questions. ALL with 5 items. So me and my big mouth later say to the girl checking me out, "that woman was a little goofy huh?"..I guess I just HAD to make small talk..the checker looks at me and says very deadpan, "she's blind". I just said "oh" and felt 2 inches tall. It still makes me feel like a schmuck. I was thinking she was a crack head or something. "oh".

Jeremy's feeling better, he cut the front yard last night and he was amazed he didn't have to change his shirt 3 times.

Drew and I went to Wendy's for Charlie's bday party. It was very nice. Bro-in-law Chris made awesome bbq.

Yesterday we saw Sky High. It was really fun. It remided me of the old Walt Disney movies they made when we were kids. The kid that played Warren Peace was a hottie.

Tomorrow night is American Idol. YAY!

Justin's New Look!

Check out my hip cool nephew Justin. He's the cutest boy in Kansas!

Cards are moving to KTRS

I think it's a good thing. I listen to the Big 550 at least 40 hours a week. I sure hope that they don't cut out any of my shows, especially McGraw and Frank. (and of course Wendy). They are doing the press conference right now. It won't be until 2006..when the new ballpark is done. YAY!

Owen's pics

Owen's pics

STAY INFORMED

Michael Yon : Online Magazine
From MSNBC.com: "There is actually good reporting coming from Iraq -- check out Michael Yon's blog, for example. And it's possible to get a clearer picture of the strategic picture than most big media accounts provide."

Thank You to my Husband

I realized yesterday all the things he does for me, and around the house. I worked from 7:30-5pm (no lunch), drove straight to the grocery store. Read the labels to get low protein meals. I was never one to buy low sodium items and fruits and veggies. Then I took the groceries into the house, put them away, cut the front yard and back yard. I did a load of laundry, took a shower, went to 7-11, ate a bowl of cereal (too tired to cook), went to Blockbuster..then practically passed out on the couch...went to bed..went to the bakery and back at work at 7:30. OH...I forgot taking out the trash and cleaining the kitchen. Whew!! Out of all of that I would have done the laundry, bought the groceries..and the rest would have been all J. Sure hope he starts feeling better soon.

Do you know where this woman is?

Reward for information on missing pregnant woman up to $100,000Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA - A reward for information leading to the discovery of the whereabouts of a missing Philadelphia woman has been increased to $100,000, authorities said Tuesday.
Latoyia Figueroa, 25, who is five months pregnant, was last seen July 18. She has a 7-year-old daughter, whom friends and family say she would never abandon.
There previously had been a $10,000 reward offered.
Local philanthropists, the staff of the restaurant where she worked and rap star Beanie Sigel were among those who contributed to the additional reward.
The reward is administered by the Citizens Crime Commission of Delaware Valley.

**********************
Missing for over a week, no leads have been found to locate Latoyia Figueroa, 24, a mother of one daughter, age 7, and five months pregnant with her second child.
Investigators have done extensive searches in both a location she was last seen, as well as a local park with no success.
On the day she was last seen, Latoyia and the father of her baby, Stephen Pouche, were going to a doctor’s appointment for their child. Neither had the money to pay for the appointment, so both left to go back to Pouche’s residence.
On their way, they stopped for takeout at a local seafood eatery and continued home. Latoyia stayed with Pouche until around 3:00 p.m. and that was the last time he saw her.
A search of a local park, Cobb’s Creek Park, was being conducted for clues to her whereabouts. Police have used cadets, search dogs, and helicopters in the search. Nothing has yet turned up.
Police are also searching a residence at 59th and Walton, the last known location of Latoyia, for clues to her disappearance.
Philadelphia Homicide department has taken over the investigation into Latoyia’s whereabouts. This does not mean that her case has turned into a homicide investigation; only that homicide has the resources to better find Latoyia.
Her family continues to search for Latoyia, hanging flyers and talking with residents.
Anthony Willaims, high school sweetheart and father to Latoyia’s first daughter, “feels” in his heart “she is still alive”. They had spoken very recently about reconciliation.
A vigil has been held for Latoyia with prayers for her safe return. Many from her community came to pray with her family but the father of her unborn baby, Stephen Pouche, was not in attendance.
A reward has been offered in the amount of $10,000 for information regarding Latoyia. If you have any information that could help in her investigation, please contact Citizen Crime Commission at 1-215-546-TIPS.

+++++++++++++++++++

1) Latoyia (we should only use her first name) is not white.2) She does not have blonde hair. 3) She was not scheduled to get married last weekend.4) She's from West Philadelphia.5) There may actually be a lead or two in her case.6) HER UNBORN BABY, HER UNBORN BABY, HER UNBORN BABY.7) To the best of our knowledge, no one from Texas has yet offered to bring in cadaver dogs to search for Latoyia, nor have forensic dive teams volunteered to scour the Schuylkill or Delaware rivers.8 ) Also to the best of our knowledge, the FBI hasn't been requested to participate in the investigation (even though Philly actually is in the US of A), nor have any DNA samples been rushed to Washington, DC.9) HER UNBORN BABY, HER UNBORN BABY, HER UNBORN BABY.

Jeremy's Home

YAY!! Back to normal, whatever that is!

living life one day at a time w/ multiple emotions

Man I feel like I'm really living life w/ tons of emotions this past weekend. Scared, angry, bored, etc..guess the hospital does that to you. Then today I got such a plesant surprise. I came in usual time but am leaving this afternoon to go up to the hospital. The owner of the company came in and closed the door..inital "oh shit what did I do" then "oh he's going to give me good wishes toward Jeremy but why did he close the door". Of course those thoughts are all split second. He said shaking his head looking at the floor that in the last 4 months I have totally exceeded their expectations and that he and Joe decided before fiscal year end that they were going to give me a bonus. He said to please please keep it under my hat since no one else was getting a bonus. It was a very decent chunk of change and I am very greatful. I was moved to tears. From working for that asswhole to such nice people that appreciate what you do. It's amazing. SO...buck that up to another emotion that I've faced since Friday..maybe a couple...gratitude, pride... Now I'm a bit scared. Scared of the amount of damage Jeremy has to his kidneys and scared it will be difficult to follow doctors orders to stay healthy. Although if he's scared enough he'll do it..he did when he quit drinking.

cute news: Drew lost tooth #2 this weekend. Keeping the toothfairy busy!

weedend at MO BAP

What I assumed would be an evening at the ER for him to get fluids and a perscription has ended in a weekend at Missouri Baptist Hospital. The routine bloodwork shows he has damaged kidneys. His blood pressure is now stable and today he is going to have a renal untrasound to show the percentage of damage. We'll just have to go from there to figure out what he needs to do different to make sure additional damage isn't done.It was a lonly weekend when I was at home, extremely quite. I did get about 10 hours sleep Saturday night.I'm going to work 1/2 day today, his test is this morning so I hope to catch the doctor and results this afternoon.People keep asking if I need anything. Can I ask someone to cut my grass? I have little trees growing in the yard.Thanks to all those who sent good wishes and prayers. Somehow I'm remarkable calm through all this.

They have free books to read at the hospital..food isn't bad..parking is free...the nurses are nice, I don't care for his doctor. I think I'll need to read up on kidneys AND get work done this morning.